Drain-blocked bridge needs urgent action

One resident of St Mary’s Gate, Euxton, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s flooded completely all the time because the drains are blocked.

“People have to walk through that every day.

“I go through there to get to the garden centre.

“It’s just slutchy and dirty, it’s not quite over your shoes, but it’s just awful for people walking under there.

“Nobody seems to be doing anything about it.

“It’s been like that over 12 months.

“They spent millions on that bridge years ago to put it right, but they’ll not clear the drains.”

The Pack Saddle bridge is at the other end of the village to the notorious Euxton Lane rail bridge which suffered a deep flood following a winter storm last year.

That has now been repaired.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: “The drains beneath this bridge are prone to becoming blocked due to their location at a low point compared with the surrounding area, which means that silt and other debris is washed into them whenever it rains.

“We prioritise cleaning of drains depending on a number of factors, including the risk of them becoming blocked, and these drains are inspected and cleaned at least once a year.

“We cleaned them twice in 2016 and last cleaned and emptied them on March 23 in response to them becoming blocked with silt.”